OPINION
Everton’s performance in their 3-1 loss to West Ham United was not at the standard required of a team who finished eighth in the Premier League last season.
There will be a lot of finger pointing, but the majority of the team crumbled on Sunday and made an arguably average side look more skilled than they actually are.
The problem lays with the firepower – or lack of it, shall we say.
The Toffees were heavily exposed up front in the absence of Richarlison, but they seriously lack a forward who demonstrates the potency that Romelu Lukaku provided during his stint at Goodison Park.
Now, all they have is Cenk Tosun and Oumar Niasse to call upon – the latter of which does not deserve to be handed a cameo by boss Marco Silva in their next league outing.
Despite being more than mediocre, Everton did have a few chances to get themselves back into the game – but it was the 28-year-old’s missed opportunity in the 85th minute that really cost them.
The hitman met Lucas Digne’s excellent cross five minutes from time by firing a right-footed volley from 15 yards out – but it was not meant to be.
If he cannot convert such clean opportunities that are presented to him, then it does not make sense for Silva to hand him cameo appearances.
He needs players who can make a positive difference when they come on, and unfortunately for the Toffees man, this was not the case.
Niasse – who is on £55,000-a-week [Spotrac] – is capable of a lot more than he displayed on Sunday, and Silva must avoid giving him any first team chances in the near future as he is clearly not cut out for top-flight football based on this showing.
He is one of two players that really exposed Everton in the forward department on Sunday – and Silva will be counting his lucky stars that he has Richarlison to call upon in the next fixture.